Spader's Tale

Disclaimer; So, Hey everyone! I'm Rose. I just wanted to let all of you know that I DON'T OWN PENDRAGON. ALL OF THE CHARACTERS FROM PENDRAGON BELONG TO D.J. MACHALE. All of the other characters belong to 'Chase Ravencroft Tilton' the creator of 'Demon's Daughter'. I'm just borrowing them for a little bit…but you might not see Spader back for a loooong while *mischievous smile*

This is from Vo Spader's point of view. Spader is a guy…so this is kind of difficult for me. But I like to look at it as a challenge. All of this takes place after everything is all fine and dandy, Daniel and Press are together, Spader and Chase are engaged, Patrick and Youran are ALSO together, and everything is going according to plan….

Chapter One-It All Went Downhill

The first thing that I noticed when I woke up was the smell; lavender and sea breeze. I knew that smell anywhere. Chase must've been here recently. As it turned out, I was absolutely right. When I turned over and cracked open my eyes, I saw something that could only be explained as heavenly.

Chase, or as I secretly call her 'my midnight rose', was still asleep. Her raven mane was cascading over her ivory shoulders, her long lashes of the same color resting on her cheeks, and her full pink lips were curled in a bemused smile.

She must be having a good dream I thought to myself. I probably shouldn't wake her.

As I slipped out of bed as quietly as I deemed possible, I witnessed her physically shudder. This made me smile. Even when she wasn't conscious she didn't want to be without me. I crept over to my dresser (one of the drawers of which belonged to Chase) and pulled on some black jeans and a baby blue V-neck tee. I quite liked Second Earth clothes. They were so loose and let me move freely. My aquaneer uniform on Cloral was much like a second skin.

I heard a slight sigh and some movement coming from the general direction of the bed. Turning around, I saw that Chase was propped up on one elbow, sleepily gazing at me with her ocean blue eyes.

"How long have you been watching me?" I inquired with raised eyebrows.

"Long enough to know that you definitely haven't skipped your scheduled training sessions with Corinthe." She replied while giving me another once-over.

With a laugh and a smirk, I made my way to the door. "I'll just be downstairs while you get dressed and do your…girly…stuff."

On the other side, I realized that my heart-rate had increased. The things that girl does to me…

I bounded down the stairs and reaching the bottom, I smelled something delicious. The only thing that could ever compete with Chase's natural scent is the simply glorious smell of a deluxe breakfast.

Patrick was down in the kitchen flipping pancakes while Gunny was in charge of the bacon. I saw Leila beating eggs at the counter and I flinched, remembering 'The Great Kitchen Fire of March Eleventh". She saw me flinch and gave me one of her trademark 'death glares'.

"Don't worry," she assured me "I've been banned from the stovetop, the oven, microwave, toaster, and I can't even so much as look at a candle without being scolded."

I sighed with relief. "Good" I turned to Gunny and Patrick "Just please have someone watching her at all times?"

They both laughed. I hated when they did that.

"We've got it kid" Gunny said.

"Hey Spade!" Bobby greeted me as he entered the room. He had the same reaction when he saw Leila doing anything kitchen related.

"Relax! Gods! Why won't you guys just trust me with a fork once in awhile?" Leila exclaimed.

Patrick let out a little snort as he returned to him pancakes.

"Where's Chase?" Bobby asked "This is the first time I've seen you two apart in weeks."
"She'll be down in a bit. She's just woken up after all."

As if on cue, my darling Chase floated down the stairs wearing a mischievous smile. She plopped in the seat next to mine and rested her head on my shoulder. I noticed that she was wearing one of my shirts; navy blue with the TARDIS on it. She's never actually seen 'Doctor Who', but she loves the feather-soft material it's made of. I thought it looked stunning and somehow made her eyes sparkle with a higher intensity than normal.

I was so preoccupied with staring at Chase, that I didn't notice that my breakfast was placed in front of me until I was rattled out of my Chase induced stupor by the sharp clang of silverware and the snickers of Bobby, Patrick, and Leila.

After finishing a fantastic breakfast (thank God Patrick learned how to use the 'primitive' cookware of Second Earth. He's an amazing chef!), Press and Youran walked in.

"Yu!" Patrick exclaimed. Youran followed with an equally excited "Patty!" They exchanged a hug, Youran actually picking up Patrick and spinning him around. They then started a conversation consisting mainly of overenthusiastic phrases such as; "Why are you here? I missed you! You can't ever leave me for that long ever again! I love you so much! I love you too! No, I love you!" It then became an almost incoherent string of 'No, I love you more!'s. Most of us shifted uncomfortably, but Chase just rolled her eyes and smiled into her lap.

It was a huge surprise when Patrick and Youran ended up together. The only person who knew either of them was bisexual was Chase, since she dated both of them as well. It almost happened instantaneously; after the battle was done, and Saint Dane-err…Daniel- was 'converted to the light side', all of the travelers got to meet the PureHearts, the people who made all of this happen. Jimmy (or James as he was called by his family) and I were fast friends and we to one another rather quickly. Yet, as soon as Patrick laid eyes on Youran, the term 'Love at first sight' gained a new meaning. And the rest, as they say on Second Earth, was history.

Press came straight over to Chase and me, giving us his traditional bear hug.

"How're my daughter and my future-son-in-law?" he asked while simultaneously squeezing the life out of me.

"I'll be fine…once I'm able…to breathe!" I replied in a series of strangled gasps. "Hobey! You'd think I'd get used to this after all of these years!" I exclaimed after being (finally!) released. I rubbed my shoulder. A bruise would probably appear within hours.

Chase saw me wince and giggled. "Everything's fantastic Daddy, but where's Papa?" she looked around the room as if expecting Daniel to pop out from behind the couch (which he actually did once by accident).

"Don't worry sweetie, your Papa will be here within minutes. He just had some…business back home." On the word 'business' I saw a dark look cross over the 'Wild Man's face.

"What's up back home?" I inquired.

"Oh, just an…incident in the kitchen involving a chicken. Danny didn't quite realize that he had to kill the chicken before putting it in the oven. Unlike Patrick over there, my Daniel isn't a culinary master."

Patrick tore his gaze away from Youran to beam at Uncle Press. He then continued his conversation which involved rapid hand gestures and lots of laughing. I wouldn't be surprised if he's been hitting the Mountain Dew again.

I heard a door close, and seconds later Daniel waltzed into the kitchen, an eager look plastered on his face. Daniel mainly used his original form now, only using his Amorphara abilities in times of great need. His waist-length raven mane was painfully similar to his daughter's as were his rare blue eyes. He normally wore the clothing of his home territory, Neeanyah, but today he wore a Second Earth ensemble. Daniel could almost pass as normal in his maroon dress shirt, black tie, black dress pants, and shiny black shoes. He even had a brand new Second Earth watch!

Daniel immediately enveloped Chase in a warm embrace, the kind that only a father could administer. Then, he came towards me. I tried to give him a handshake. He merely scoffed and gave me a hug as well.

"Vo, my young man! How are you faring on this beautiful day?" he asked me.

"I'm excellent, but…it's awful outside."

I wasn't lying. The sky was blanketed in what seemed to be one giant storm cloud. Rain was coming down in sheets, and as if to punctuate my statement, an extremely loud clap of thunder sounded nearly shaking the house.

"Oh. It seems that you are right." His face fell. "Well! Let's not let the rain dampen our mood!" he exclaimed.

Everyone automatically stopped what they were doing to stare at Daniel, surprised that he had made an attempt at humor.

"What? What did I say?" Daniel seemed truly confused.

"That was…funny." I told him, surprise evident in my tone. Everyone else just continued to stare.

Daniel's face made the slow transition from confused to ecstatic. "Really? I was humorous!" Daniel somehow got even more excited. I wouldn't be surprised if he broke out in song or dance.

We all continued our conversations with one another until the lights flickered for a moment, finally staying on the 'off' setting. Chase jumped and I let out an undignified girly squeak. This got some more giggles from Bobby and Leila. Weird, Patrick would usually laugh at that too. If either of them could see, they would've gotten a death glare.

Gunny scrambled for some candles while I pulled a lighter out from the kitchen drawer. After lighting enough candles to see rough shapes and colors, I asked if everyone was alright. I only got seven responses. None of them sounded like Patrick.

"Patty? Are you alright?" Youran asked anxiously.

There was no response.

Chase looked at me. Even in the dark, I could see that she was concerned. We exchanged a silent agreement to set out to find more flashlights, and eventually, Patrick. We left the room and each got a flashlight from our room. Turning them on, we searched many of the rooms. We saved the library for last.

Muffled voices were heard from below in the kitchen. I could make out a few words such as "Where" "disappeared" "not possible" and a panicked "P-Patty?" coming from Youran (Who else? He was the only one who was allowed to call Patrick 'Pat' or "Patty").

Once we reached the library (Patrick's favorite room in the house), I noticed a silver glint in the corner next to the fuse box. It was rather obvious that the power outage was planned.

"Chase?" I called.

"Did you find something? Did you find Patrick?" she said after making her way over.

"I'm not completely sure how this 'electricity' thing works on Second Earth, but what I am sure of is that this was no accident." I walked over to the fuse box and examined its contents. Some of the wires were severed. What drew me to the box was a tag hanging from the handle. A green tag. Looking closer, I saw a short letter written in flowing penmanship. This was without a doubt, a planned kidnapping.

The letter read;

Chastity Ravencroft Tilton,

You will never find us. x

I shakily handed the letter to Chase. As soon as she saw her name, all of the remaining color drained from her already pale face. She stumbled, obviously recognizing the script.

"Darling!" I caught her as she completely lost her balance. 'Who was it? What's wrong? Where's Patrick!"

Chase uttered one word before losing consciousness; "Shara"

End of Chapter One